The Reef (Haifa) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here again, this time in feet and miles. The surf outlook for The Reef (Haifa) for the next 16 days is a tough one. We’ve got a long stretch of very small, weak waves and not much quality on offer. The energy is consistently low, with combined energy readings staying in the weak range (between 5 and 72). The water is sitting at 30°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year. The whole period starts with a blank run; there are no good surf recommendations until the very end of the forecast window.

We start off on Sunday, 23 August, with nothing you’d paddle out for. It’s the same story through all of August: tiny 1ft to 3ft swell coming from the west-northwest with short periods of just 5 to 7 seconds. Winds are mostly cross or onshore, sometimes light, but often creating a bit of chop. The first half of the period is a total washout for decent waves.

There’s a glimmer of hope in the second week, but it’s still marginal. On Wednesday, 2 September, the swell bumps up a little to 3ft in the morning and 3ft in the afternoon, from the west-northwest and west, with period stretching to 7 seconds. Combined energy hits 47 in the morning and 61 in the afternoon. It’s still below average, but it’s the biggest we see. The morning has light cross-shore winds, which is the cleanest it gets that day, though the afternoon gets choppy.

The standout, if you can call it that, comes on Thursday, 3 September. The morning session shows the best wave energy for the whole period: 3ft from the west with an 8-second period and a combined energy of 72. The wind is light and cross-shore, keeping conditions reasonably clean. This is the pick of the bunch, but let’s not kid ourselves – it’s still small and inconsistent. The Reef is exposed to west swell, which is what we’re getting, but the optimum swell direction here is from the west, so that’s in its favour. However, the setup is a beach and reef, and with this swell strength, it’s really only for beginners or longboarders looking for a paddle.

The rest of the period fades again into tiny 2ft to 2ft waves with weak energy. The morning of Sunday, 6 September, turns glassy, but there’s almost no swell to use it on. Basically, there are no true standouts here. If you’re desperate, Thursday morning 3 September is the best of a bad run.

Rusty.

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